Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif met accidentally, and the tension in the air could be cut with a knife

By Sonal Chawla (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 22, 2010)

// // // What happens when Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘close friend’ Katrina Kaif bumps into his ex-flame Deepika Padukone? It happened at a shoot recently and both girls exchanged cold stares before Katrina walked out, with her nose in the air. Needless to say, acknowledging each other was not on their agenda.

It may be recalled that Ranbir Kapoor became really close friends with Katrina Kaif while he was dating Deepika.

On Wednesday, Deepika was doing a magazine photo shoot in the open area of Mehboob Studio. An eyewitness reveals, “Deepika had come with Farhan Akhtar for her photo shoot. Somewhere around late afternoon, Deepika was giving her solo shots in the garden area of the studio. While Deepika was doing her last minute touch-up, there was pin drop silence and all eyes swivelled to the entrance. It was Katrina Kaif, who had accidentally walked in, thinking it was the venue where she was called for her shoot.”

The eyewitness continues, “Dressed in a short white skirt and a pink tee, Katrina walked in and froze for a second. Deepika, who was standing some distance away, saw her. Both had a few seconds of eye contact, and Katrina immediately took a U-turn and walked away.”

(L): Katrina Kaif (R): Deepika Padukone

It’s hardly surprising given their history. A source says, “Although Ranbir and Deepika are not seeing each other any more, the latter still has issues with Katrina. It was the growing friendship between Katrina and Ranbir which marked an end to her relationship.”

Both Katrina and Deepika did not reply to our message till the time of going to press.

How Himesh Reshammiya’s obsession with Mann ka Radio drove his hapless neighbours up the wall for many nights

By Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 22, 2010)

We all may have a bit of narcissism in us, but when it threatens to become a social nuisance, it’s no longer funny.

Singer-turned-actor Himesh Reshammiya had neighbours in his building, Oberoi Sky Heights at Lokhandwala, almost begging for mercy when he started playing songs from his flop film Radio right through the night at full volume.

Apparently just a few days before Radio released, Himesh, who stays on the 35th floor of B-Wing of Oberoi Sky Heights, would play the songs of the film from midnight to the early hours of the morning, on an everyday basis.

Worse, he would play the same song – Mann ka radio bajne de zara – irritating he neighbours even further. The brunt of the noise pollution was borne by the Jain family, which stays just below him on the 34th floor. Says a source from the building, “At times, we were not able to comprehend if Himesh was playing the song or singing it himself. He would sometimes play another song from the same film – as loudly – in the afternoon as well.”

After putting up with it for a few days, Mrs Jain and some of her friends who live in the same building, thought of writing an official letter of complaint, but later decided to just have a word with the building-in-charge instead.

1. Himesh’s flat
2. Jains residence

But Himesh reportedly continued with his obsession of loudly playing Radio songs, much to the chagrin of the helpless neighbours. While Himesh denied the allegation, Mrs Mrs Jain told Mumbai Mirror, “The music coming from Himesh’s flat in the night was very disturbing.” Actor Sahil Khan, who stays on the 33rd floor also confirmed, “I heard there was a problem between the Jains and Himesh because of the loud music from Himesh’s flat.”

The midnight drama continued until Radio hit the theatres and sank. That must have awakened Himesh to the fact that perhaps people didn’t like the film and its music as much as he thought they would. A stunned silence ensued and Reshammiya’s neighbours finally breathed a sigh of relief.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK (BOMBAY TIMES; January 22, 2010)

The team of Eros International’s Veer has been looking forward to this day with great anticipation as the mega project finally hits the big screens across the country. Salman, who has an eye for spotting talent, will introduce Zarine Khan in his dream project. And the newbie is glad that mentor Salman’s dream project has materialised so well. The film is set in 1875 and is based on the love story of a warrior, who leads his clan of the fearless Pindhari warriors, who refused to surrender to the British Empire.

Salman says, “Veer can be called my most awaited film till date. I wanted to direct a film on this subject. My biggest fear for Veer was that my father had asked me not to make this film! But when he finally saw the end result, he came out saying ‘It’s outstanding’. Speaking about the film, director Anil Sharma says, “I had approached Salman for another film, but he discussed Veer with me. Salman has lived the character of Veer for 20 years. I was so inspired by his vision and enthusiastic narration that I felt I had to be a part of this project.” Producer Vijay Galani was extremely excited to have Salman playing a fearless warrior. “I took up Veer as a dream, not just to make a good film and recover our investment, but to make India’s biggest film, to take Bollywood to a very new level and have Salman as a ferocious warrior.”

Zarine plays Princess Yashodhara, who’s head-over-heels in love with Veer in the movie. In real life, too, Zarine can’t stop singing praises of her hero. “I remember the first time I met him on the sets of Yuvvraj, I had asked him for an autograph. While signing the autograph he told me ‘Sweetheart, now you’ll sign autographs for the world’. I was stumped. Later I got to know that I was selected for Veer,” she gushes.

Salman took great interest in the making of the film. Speaking about his helpful ways, Zarine says, “Salman taught me a lot of things. He never threw starry tantrums. I had heard that he gets angry quickly, but that’s not true. He’s a genuine person. There would be times when I would not get a shot right, but he never yelled at me. He would explain the shot in great detail and show me how to do it. He is perfect for the role. He is the perfect warrior.” Looks like with his princess by his side, warrior Salman is all set to win the box office battle once again.

The news that has been doing the rounds for sometime now is about the search for the heroine of Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder’s flick Tees Maar Khan. The film has been in news since its announcement. First it was Akshay replacing SRK as the lead, followed by the ‘namesake’ casting coup, wherein Akshaye Khanna was roped in for the film.

As far as the heroine for the film was concerned, the rumor mills went overboard with names that ranged from Sonam Kapoor to Deepika Padukone and likes. But, according to Bollywood Hungama’s confirmed sources it is neither Sonam, nor Deepika, because it is Katrina Kaif! When we spoke to Shirish to confirm the news, all that he said was, “I cannot say anything right now. I can only speak about it in a couple of days.” Our source also went onto add that the trio of Akshay, Katrina and Farah have shot a cover page shoot for a daily (which is supposed to be out in a couple of days) to announce the coming on board of Katrina as Tees Maar Khan’s leading lady.

With Katrina coming on board, expectations are bound to be sky-high about Tees Maar Khan, considering the hit track record that Akki-Katz have delivered in the past, like Namastey London, Welcome and Singh Is Kinng to name a few. What remains to be seen is that will Tees Maar Khan follow suit or will it create a new track record?

In a film industry that is plagued with piracy and other forms of creative and financial vandalism, the downloading of Sudhir Mishra’s unreleased film Tera Kya Hoga Johnny nonetheless comes as a rude shock.

The director, shooting his latest film in the freezing winter of Delhi, took time off to speak exclusively to Bollywood Hungama.

“Suddenly the news of my film being downloaded has become bigger than the film itself. This, I must admit, comes as a rude reminder of what lies ahead for our film industry. It’s not just piracy. The internet is where we need to look for trouble sources now.”

Sudhir was busy shooting on Tuesday. “When I finally heard about my film being on the net, I checked it out. This is not the full and final version of Tera Kya Hoga Johnny. It’s a very rough cut. I’d advice all netizens to avoid watching the illegally download version because that’s not my film.”

Trying hard to keep the annoyance and anger out of his voice, Sudhir refuses to play the blame game with the film’s co-producer Tutu Sharma.

“All I’ll say,” says the tightlipped critically acclaimed director “is that the film did not get leaked out of my office. What has already happened must be avoided in the future. But we aren’t letting this go. Complaints have been filed in two police stations of Mumbai and with the Google authorities. This must not happen again.”

Sudhir, however is confident that the unfinished version on the internet won’t jeopardize the film’s prospects. “After Slumdog Millionaire, the West is looking with much curiosity at the slum culture of Mumbai. I had no plans of doing an English version of Tera Kya Hoga Johnny. But everyone who saw it in New York suggested I do it. Every frame in my film has been shot in the slums, lanes and gullies of Colaba in South Mumbai.”

Tera Kya Hoga Johnny is an episodic story of a street -child name Johnny. Mishra got an actual boy from the streets of Kolkata to play the lead and even unofficially adopted the boy who now lives with the director.

Neil Nitin Mukesh who features in one of the episodes was blamed for the film’s two-year delay in release. It was said that Neil didn’t want the film to release because of his minuscule role.

“Now at least everyone should stop blaming me,” smirks Neil. “It was said that I delayed the film by refusing to dub for it. Arrey! The film was in sync sound, so there’s no question of not dubbing. I’m very proud of Tera Kya Hoga Johnny.”

American actress Lucy Liu will be in Mumbai soon to direct a film starring Tannishtha Chatterjee

By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 21, 2010)

Charlie’s Angels and Kill Bill star Lucy Liu is turning director along with two other American actresses, Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie. This is for a four-segment, all-women feature film, which is yet untitled. The USP of this project is it converts some of the topmost American actresses into first-time directors.

It is to be shot in four continents beginning with India. Although the fourth director is yet to be finalised, the other three directors are set to go behind the camera; the first one being Lucy Liu.

The heartening news is that Lucy turns director with a film set in Mumbai. The hush-hush project starts filming in February at undisclosed locations in Mumbai. Two other segments of the film are to be shot in two other countries by Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep.

Bengali actress Tannishtha Chatterjee, who created ripples with her role of a repressed Bangladeshi wife in Sarah Gavron’s British film Brick Lane, is playing the lead in the Mumbai segment. After the actress (currently doing the festival circuit for Dev Benegal’s Road, Movie opposite Abhay Deol) was selected in Mumbai among many topnotch hopefuls, she flew down to LA to meet Lucy.

(L): Tannishtha Chatterjee (R): Lucy Liu

Tannishtha confirms the news. She says, “At the moment, I am not supposed to talk about this project at all. If I breathe a word, I will be guilty of breach of contract. So let us just say, I love Lucy!”

V K Murthy is the first cinematographer to be awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He talks about his journey and working with Guru Dutt, who was irreplaceable for him

By Manasi Paresh Kumar (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 21, 2010)

// // //

V K Murthy

V K Murthy’s once steady hands have captured the most beautiful images for Indian cinema. He is the man who turned legendary filmmaker Guru Dutt’s creativity into on-screen magic.

That shot in Kaagaz Ke Phool where Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman are bathed in white light as Geeta Dutt’s melancholy Waqt ne kiya… rings out became Murthy’s calling card as a cinematographer. A pioneer of lighting techniques, Murthy is credited to have turned the technique and technology into art. This year he takes home the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award (the first cinematographer to win this award) as a befitting tribute.

His fragile 86-year-old frame struggled to pose for the barrage of photographers that laid siege to his Chamrajpet home in Bangalore, as the news spread. But the cinematographer understood the challenge. “It is difficult to take a shot sometimes,” he said. He rolls out his story…

•If I were an actor

As a 12-year-old, I wanted to become a Hindi film hero and even took Hindi lessons so I could speak clearly. But at 16, reality dawned and I realised I did not have the personality of an actor. But I remained fascinated by the art of story telling and its technique. At that time, S J Polytechnic was the only college in South East Asia to have a course in cinematography and I enrolled for it. When I went to Bombay, it was a struggle to find a footing in the Hindi film industry. I didn’t know where my life was heading. Maharana Pratap gave me my first break where I assisted cinematographer Dronacharya. Yet it was Fali Mistry who honed me in the art. To this day, I am yet to see a more talented cinematographer than him.

Lovely sightLeading ladies were all stunning then, you could never pick one as a favourite. However, I was a favourite with them if their compliments were anything to go by. Meena Kumari always told me, ‘Murthysaab, nobody makes me look as beautiful as you.’ Madhubala was, of course, a beauty.

Chaudhvin ka chand

• Who needed colour

I was assistant cameraperson for the film Baazi and had suggested a particular shot for a musical bit in a song. Rathra, who was the cameraperson for the movie and leading man Dev Anand’s cousin, said that the shot could not be done so. I asked for permission to shoot it myself and in the third take, we got it right. Guru Dutt asked me to be his cameraman from then on.

When I began my career, we were in the black and white era which was indulgent to one’s creativity. Any cinematographer will tell you that black and white is the best way to shoot. It allows you to experiment with lighting and shot break-ups. But when I shot the song Chaudhvi ka chand in technicolour, it amazed me to see the difference.

For my ownI have shot just one movie Huvu Hannu and even acted in it. Why I did not become a more integral part of the Kannada film industry is a question you need to ask the producers of that time who never invited me. They said I was too expensive.

•Guru Dutt, magic and movies

Waqt ne kiya…

Though Dutt and me were from Karnataka, oddly enough we always communicated in Hindi. We were individually creative and worked very well with each other. Though many consider Kaagaz Ke Phool to be his finest, I personally am a fan of Pyaasa. The writing, the scenes, the sequence are par excellence and gave me the best platform to experiment.

While making Kaagaz Ke Phool, the two of us were sitting in the studio as the late afternoon sun poured in through the ventilators of the room. It struck both of us that this would make a great shot. When we shot Waqt ne kiya, I had used mirrors for the effect and the final product was stunning, capturing the pathos of the song beautifully.

We had shot one scene for a new movie Gauri, with his wife Geeta in the lead, when he died. I had lost a friend and creative soulmate. I have worked with Shyam Benegal on his Discovery of India series, Govind Nihalani and Pramod Chakravarthy who I was very fond of. But there was no other Guru Dutt for me.